Entering Paris

Arrived in Paris last night around 7pm. Since it was early, we decided to drive around so that I could get a quick look at the City of Lights.

First, I would like to say that overall my sister is a good driver. I am generally a nervous passenger since I always drive and because I am a better driver than everyone else. How do I know this? Ask me, I will tell you so. No, this is not a control issue - I swear on my mother's grave. So the driving until now has been good. Things changed in Paris. I watched with growing anxiety as my sister turned from a reasonably safe passive (though left-lane hog) driver into an obvious extra driver for Death Race 2000. I think it took only about 45 minutes to drive by every monument and museum in Paris worth seeing, but I am not positive. About fifteen minutes in I started having vision problems and head pain. It took me a few more minutes to recall that what I was experiencing is called a headache. Seems my ex-wife had co-opted my headaches years ago and used them for what I can only describe as nefarious purposes when she was not able to generate her own. I may be getting off track ... anyway, the ride was great fun and I am happy that it ended without any serious injuries.

I would like to make a suggestion to the French traffic police. I suggest that once a month, a driver of a car be allowed, without any repercussions, to open their window and tip over a person on a motorbike or scooter. These people are deserving of much worse. For example, during our foray around Paris a man on a motorcycle started hammering his horn because we were blocking him from continuing down the street. He happened to be driving on the sidewalk and had the misfortune of being blocked by inconsiderate pedestrians. We were blocking his passage due to a red light that for some reason Nicole was obeying. I rolled down my window in case he passed us on the right but he decided to cut off the car behind us and veer into oncoming traffic so that he could get in front of us. I begged Nicole to take him out but she was too busy muttering about stupid American tourists and counting how many points she could earn at the next intersection to pay any heed to me.